Disinfecting apparatus.



J. F. HUNT.

DISINFEGTING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 9. 1915.

. M N .w m E c m M i m M m i n J N M M EMU t v I m W P 1M6 W W 5 7, V/ U "WITNESSES FFEQ JOHN F. HUNT, OF MALDEN, MASSACHUSETTS.

nrsrnr ncrme APPARATUS.

Application filed February 9, 1915.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1, JOHN F. HUNT, citizen of the United States, resioing at Malden, county of Middlesex, State of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Disinfecting Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention relates to improvements in toilet disinfecting apparatus and has for its object the production of a new and improved disinfectant holder which, is designed to be used in connection with a closet bowl, urinal or the like for the purpose of thoroughly disinfecting, deodorizing or sweetening both the closet and the toilet room.

The device embodying my invention is adapted to be placed within the closet bowl and to cause it to be thoroughly disinfected during each flushing operation. and is so arranged and constructed that during the intervals when the bowl is not being flushed fumes are given off from the disinfectant which serve to purify or disinfect the air in the room in which the holder is located.

Heretofore so far as known to me disinfectant containers have been so designed that a portion of the water is received by them during the flushing operation, and allowed to pass over the disinfectant or other material. employed and directly through the con tainer into the bowl. I have found that this does not bring about satisfactory results for the water which thus quickly passes through. the container does not become sufficiently impre gnated. with the material contained therein to thoroughly disinfect and purify the bowl.

The device embodying my invention is adapted to hold a portion of the water received during the flushing operation and to partially submerge the material contained in the holder in this water during the intervals while the bowl is not being flushed. The water standing in the container softens and dissolves a portion of the substance contained therein and converts it into a condition to release and so to give off exhalations or volatile substances to disinfect, deodorize, or sweeten the air of the room, and at the same time prepares this portion to be carried down at the succeeding flush into the bowl of the fixture to perform the same duty upon the fixture and its contents, and to still further continue its work on the air Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented Jan. 2, 1917.

Serial No. 7,113.

of the room. The substance in the holder thus not only acts upon the air of the room, but it performs its work thoroughly on the fixture and the waste pipe connected therewith, for the portion thus prepared is in a condition to be readily soluble in water, so that when water passes into the container during the next flushing operation and overflows into the bowl, it carries down the prepared portion with it which immediately impregnates or saturates the water in the bowl with the substance employed. Vflen the flushing operation ceases water is again held in the container to act on the disinfectant or other substance employed, and to repeat the operation hereinabove described.

A further object of my invention is to so construct the holder that it fits snugly within the bowl beneath the flushing ring and is substantially out of sight and removed from danger of contamination.

A still further object of my invention is to produce a device which is economical, simple, and inexpensive to manufacture, and is devoid of the cumbersome disfiguring structure of most of the devices heretofore produced.

My invention will be fully understood from the following description when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the novel features thereof will be pointed out'and clearly defined in the claim at the close of the specification.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a top plan view of a portion of a closet bowl provided with the device embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a section on line .22 of Fig.

7 1. Fig. 3 is a side elevation of a device embodying my invention. Fig. i is an end elevation of the same. Fig. 5 is a longitudinal section of the device. Fig. 6 is a view in perspective of the supporting clip.

Having reference to the drawings there is shown at 11 a portion of a closet bowl of common form which is provided with the usual flushing ring 12 having a conduit 13 for water and passages 1 to allow the water to flow down the side of the bowl. Beneath the flushing ring 12 and preferably closely The lower end of the clip is bent inwardly, as shown at 18, and is adapted to be received within a slot 19 with which the holder 15 is provided. The clip is preferably of spring metal so that the holder may be readily removed when desired, and is so arranged that it retains the holder snugly against the side of the bowl and holds it firmly in position. lVhile I have described at some length the form of supporting means preferred it is obvious that any well known manner of securing the holder in the desired position may be employed.

The holder 15 consists of an open container or vessel 20 of a. somewhat tubular shape having sides 21, 22 and ends 23, the sides being curved slightly longitudinally thereof to conform to the horizontal contour of the bowl 11. The ends 23 of the cons tainer curve upwardly approximately to the adapted to hold water. While any suitable form of solid disinfectant or other material may be employed the holder is particularly designed to retain pencils 2% of disinfectant or other material which areapproximately the length of the container bottom 25 and preferably have a curved pencil shape to correspond with the longitudinal curve of the'holder. They are held securely in position and are prevented from being displaced during the flushing-operations by the ends 23 and by curved lateral extensions 26, 27, and 28, which are integral with the side 22 and project. over toward the side 21. The lateral extensions further serve to provide contacts for the holder against the bottom of the flushing ring 12 to enable the supporting clip to retain the holder firmly in place. A portion of the center extension 27 together with a portion of the sides and bottom also affords the necessary surface for the grip of the supporting clip.

While I have described pencils of disinfectant or the like as being particularly adapted to be used in my device it is obvious that other forms of disinfecting, de-odorizing or sweetening material may be employed.

It will be noted that the holder 15 is so constructed that when supported by the clip 16 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2 it is directly beneath the passages 14 in the flushing ring Copies of this patent may be obtained for 12 of the bowl. When thus suspended water passes from the flushing ring 12 through the passages 14, by the extensions 26, 27 and 28, and directly into the container 15, the extensions being so arranged that the water can freely flow into the container and overflow into the bowl. The container therefore is practically an open vessel to and from which the water may readily flow. A portion of the material in the water which remains in the container after a. flushing oper ation is softened by the action of the water in which it stands and is prepared to be carried down into the bowl by the water flowing into the container during the succeeding flushing operation.

I prefer to retain only a small amount of Water in the container so that the solution obtained by the dissolving material may be sufliciently strong to act thoroughly on the bowl and give 01f the required fumes into the room. For this purpose I provide drain notches 29 at each end of the upper edge of the holding portion of the container which notches are arranged to allow only a relatively small amount of water to remain in the bottom thereof. 7

I regard my invention as important for it embodies a device, which is practical, simple, economical, and inexpensive to produce and which may be readily installed in a close-t bowl so that it is substantially out of sight. Furthermore it provides means for keeping the solid disinfecting, deodorizing or sweetening material in a predetermined small quantity of water between flushings thereby affording a proper quantity of strong solution to act upon the bowl at the neXt flushing and during the interim to send off eXhalatio-ns into'the room.

What I claim is:

A disinfecting device consistingof a receptacle adapted to contain disinfecting material and having an imperforate bottom with upwardly curved ends, and a partly open top provided with overhanging extensions, combined with means for detachably securing said receptacle to the underside of the rim of a closet bowl.

In testimony whereof I afliX my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

JOHN F. HUNT.

Witnesses:

CAMERON MAOLEOD, ALICE I-I. MoRRIsoN.

five cents each,- by addressing the Gommissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

